Demountable vehicle-rim.



O. A. MYERS.

DEMOUNTABLE VEHICLE RIM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 31,1912.

1,109,173., Patented Sept. 1,1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

'0. A. MYERS.

DEMOUNTABLE VEHICLE RIM. APPLICATION FILED MAY 31, 1912.

1, 109,1 '73. Patented Sept, 1, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CARMON' A. MYERS, OF AKRON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE FIRESTONE TIRE &RUBBER COMPANY, OF AKRON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 1, 1914.

Application filed May 31, 1912. Serial No. 700,694.

To all whom-it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CARMoN A. MYERS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Akron, in the county of Summit and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new anduseful character herein illustrated anddescribed the transverse bolts holding the tire rim upon the wheel havepassed throughthe felly, thus weakening that member, and also producinga construction in which the pull of the bolt is limited by its closeassociat on with the fulcruming line or bearing edge of the clampingmember.

In view of these disadvantages the princlpal objects of the presentinvention are to produce a strong, durable and simple construction inwhich the pull of the bolt is made more directly upon the side clampingmember near its line of contact with the wedging member, thus giving thebolt greater holding power without sacrificing any of the advantages ofthis type of rim construction; and a further object is to avoidboringthrough the wheel felly at intervals therein, especially in the singletire form where the felly is comparatively small.

A still further object is to provide means and arrangements of partswhereby the shocks of contact of the side of the wheel with curbing orother hard objects may be transmitted directly to the wheel "and notcome. upon the locking bolts and nuts to their injury as has, beenheretofore the case.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

In the drawings accompanying this specification and forming a. partthereof there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of theseimprovements for double and single tire construction.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a wheel felly carrying double tireconstruction, part of the clamping flange or side ring being brokenaway; Fig. 2 is a cross section through one of the transverse bolts, ason the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective of thecenter band recessed for the accommodation of a cross bolt; Fig. 4 is asimilar view to that of Fig. 1, but showing modified forms of theseveral holding elements; Fig. 5 is a perspective of one of the clampingblocks shown in Fi 4; and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a ragmerc ltof the split wedging ring preferably use In these drawings 15 indicatesthe wheel felly, 16 the felly band and 17 the tire rim. As illustrated,the tire rims are preferably formed with wedging surfaces 17.

Referring more particularly to the double t-ire construction for theimmediately next ensuing description, the center ring 18 comprises ametallic band rolled into substantially'the shape shown in Fig. 3,having a central base portion and edges. adapted to rest upon the fellyband and provided with beveled surfaces 18 adapted to co-act with thesimilar surfaces on the tire rim in holding the latter in positionupon'the wheel. The center ring 18 is transversely recessed at intervalsfor the accommodation of locking bolts 25-, and this rin 18 is rigidlysecured to the felly band y a plurality of bolts 19 passing, through thecenter ring, felly band and felly, these bolts being provided with nuts20. The wedging ring 22 has similar recesses 22" to accommodate thebolts 25, and is provided with a beveled surface 22 adapted to contact asimilar surface 17' on the tirerim.v This wedging ring 22 is split, asat 23, to permit its ex ansion or contraction when it is being orcedinto tight relation with the tire rim. The side ring or flange 30 isformed with a plurality of bolt apertures 30 in alinement with therecesses 18 and 22 of the center ring and Wedging ring respectively. Theinner circumferential portion of the ring 30 has a projecting flange orannular extension 30 formed to abut the wheel felly and act as a fulcrumagainst the power transmitted by the nut 26v The outer circumferentialportion of this ring 30 bears against the wedgmg ring 22, forcing itinto clamping contact with the tire rim when the nut is tightened.

It will be noted from the drawings that the flanges of the tire rims 17project beyond the planes of the sides of the wheel felly and of the nut26. By this arrangement the shocks of contact of the side of the wheelwith such hard obstacles as a. sidewedging ring walk curb are receivedby the heavy tire rim and transmitted therefrom directly to the wheel,and the bolt-heads and nuts are thus protected from the shearing andbending to which heretofore they have been subjected. But in order thatthis extension of the tire rim flange may not be excessive, the presentinvention includes a special formation of nut having a cylindricalreduced portion 26 formed to extend Within the body of the side ring 30through the aperture 30, which is slightly greater in diameter than theportion 26', to permit the side ring freely to move inwardly at the top,if it so happens that such movement takes place when the nut is beingtightened. This arrangement and construction thus provide a large amountof holding power with a minimum of extension of the nut beyond the outersurface of the side ring 30. Another function of this reduced portion isthat should any shocks be received by the nut they will be trans mitteddirectly to the side clamping member,-and the bolt thus prevented frombeing bent.

It will now be seen that when the tire rims are in position upon thecenter ring or abutment member 18, the wedgm rings 22 applied, and thenut 26 tighten upon the side rings 30, the pull of the bolt will beexerted with great force directly upon the wedging ring owing to itsnear association therewith, the fulcrum for the leverlike action of theside ring being at a relatively considerable distance from the source ofpower. Thus the tire may be held securely without undue straining andwrenching of the clamping means, and without the incidental wear andruination of the bolt and nut threads as has been heretofore the case.

In the modified form of holding means shown in Figs. 4 and 5 the centerring is dispensed with, and blocks 4:0 formed from sections of such aring are secured by means of bolts 41 upon the felly hand. These blocksare recessed for the accommodation ofthe bolt 25 as in thefirstdescribed form. It has been found preferable to use a split also in thisconstruction, although sections of such a rin could be used for thepurpose. Instead o a continuous side ring or flange, this modificationincludes blocks 42, which, as shown in Fig. 5, consist merely ofsections of the ring hereinabove described. Each of these blocks isapertured to receive the bolt 25. The

holding of the tire rim is accomplished in the same manner as thatalready herein Set forth, and will be fully understood Withoutrepetition. 1 In order that the bolt 25 may not turn while it is beingtightened or loosened, a square shank 27 may be provided near the head28, accommodated in a square aperture 29 on one of the side rings.

It will be evident to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made in the specific forms of tire holding means herein illustratedand described without departing from the spirit or scope of thisinvention.

1. In a demountable rim construction of the character described, thecombination of a pair of tire rims, a felly having a band thereon, acenter ring on said felly band between said rims, said center ringhaving a pair of oppositely disposed abutment surfaces, a pair ofwedging rings engaging said tire rims on their outer sides, a pair ofside rings, each of which engages one of said wedging rings and saidfelly, a plurality of bolts passing through both of said side rings, andnuts for said bolts whereby, on tightening said nuts, said tire rimswill be simultaneously drawn toward each other and against the abutmentsurfaces of said center ring, thereby securing said tire rims inposition, substantially as described.

2. In a demountable rim construction of the character described, thecombination of a pair of tire rims, a felly having a band thereon, acenter ring on said felly band between said rims, said center ringhaving a pair of oppositely and obliquely disposed abutment surfaces,means for fastening said center rin to said felly band, a pair ofwedging rings engaging said tire rims on their outer sides, a pair ofside rings, each of which engages one of said wedging rings and saidfelly, a plurality of bolts passing through both of said side rings,said wedging rings and said center ring, and nuts for said bolts,whereby, on tightening said nuts, said tire rims will be simultaneouslydrawn toward each other and against the obliquely disposed surfaces ofsaid center ring, thereby securing said tire rims in position,substantially as described.

CARMON A. MYERS;

Witnesses:

R. E. GLASS, S. G. CARKHUFF.

